TROUBLED WATERS: NOT SO FAST THERE, Partner! (And do these folks NOT read the newspapers, watch the news, etc?)

Districts shun federal money 

Leaders say Race to the Top goal unclear

By LORI HIGGINS

FREE PRESS EDUCATION WRITER 

Some metro-area school leaders are refusing to sign agreements that would assure they could share in up to $400 million in federal stimulus funds — money that will be awarded to states with innovative plans to reform schools.

It is unclear whether the lack of signatures will affect the state’s application for the grant from the Race to the Top program. Federal officials have said it is imperative tohave support from local dis tricts — school boards, admin istrators and union officials. But a consistent concern school leaders raise is the lack of clarity in what Michigan’s plan will include. Districts had to submit the agreements by the close of business Friday, before the Michigan Depart ment of Education posted a fi nal summary of its plan..

And for many school officials opting not to sign, the uncertainty isn’t worth the little money they would receive. Birmingham Public Schools, for instance, stood to receive only $60,000. The amount depends on how many low-income students a district educates.

“They didn’t feel it would be responsible to sign something that lacked clarity. It committed us to adopt a plan that isn’t yet finalized,” said district spokeswoman Marcia Wilkinson.

School boards in Bloomfield Hills, Eastpointe, Lake Orion, Novi, Richmond, South Lyon and Walled Lake also opted not to sign. The board in Berkley took no action.

Jan Ellis, spokeswoman for the education department, said the refusal to sign “is troubling” at a time when “education is paramount and every penny counts.”

In Bloomfield Hills Schools, where the Board of Education decided Thursday night not to sign the agreement, there were broader issues than the lack of clarity. In a letter sent to parents and staff, Superintendent Steven Gaynor said he’s concerned that the Race to the Top grant ties teacher evaluations to student achievement.

Gaynor said there is no evidence that linking the two is effective, and he said he’s concerned that teachers fearful for their jobs will be forced to teach to the state exams “to the exclusion of all other worth while instruction now going on in Bloomfield Hills Schools.”

But Ellis responded that “it no longer matters” now that the governor has signed legislation that requires districts to use student achievement growth to evaluate teachers.

“It’s now state law,” she said.